Wet-dry survival suit



y 0, 1969 J. w. SMITH 3,444,570

WET-DRY sunvxvm. sum

Filed April 18, 1966 III/III INVENTOR.

JAMES W SMITH ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,444,570 WET-DRY SURVIVALSUIT James W. Smith, 946 S. Joliet, Aurora, Colo. 80010 Filed Apr. 18,1966, Ser. No. 543,100 Int. Cl. 1363c 9/08 U.S. Cl. 9331 1 ClaimABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A coverall-type survival suit having aconnected hood and provided with integral hand and foot covers, isprovided with a single front opening, partially closable by a slidefastener, to leave the face of an occupant exposed. A large triangularshaped flap is sealed around the slide fastener opening and forms withthe face opening an entrance for a user. When the slide fastener isclosed the flap covers the chin of the occupant and a draw string aroundthe neck and over the flap keeps the occupants body dry.

This invention relates to survival wear and more particularly tosurvival wear of a coverall-type in which a user may be immersed inwater yet remain dry and relatively warm, and specifically the inventionrelates to frigid water survival wear.

Ice cold water, and particularly sea water is a real hazard for manyoccupations which require work near or above such water. Sailors in theArctic and Antarctic Oceans and in other bodies of water during thewinter, off shore drilling rigs on which workers work above the water,and like occupations may at times be subjected to immersing in the waterdue to mishaps and accidents. In 30 to 34 degree sea water, withoutprotection, a human being can survive but a few minutes. Even in waterwith a temperature around 40 a survival time of a human being is quitelimited, if such-person is immersed in the water without adequateprotection.

According to the present invention I have provided a survival suit ofthe coverall-type which provides insulation for the occupant of the suitpermitting extended survival times in the coldest of water, and inaddition, the suit provides means for maintaining the occupant dry. Afurther benefit from the suit is that it is made of a material whichprovides buoyancy to the occupant under all conditions, and even willprovide buoyancy for the occupant where the suit has been torn,permitting the entry of water into the suit. The survival wear is madeof a number of pieces secured together in such a manner as to produce,in final form, a one-piece suit having a single opening and a singleslide fastener closing means. This permits the user to dress in the suitand to secure the same for water operation in a minimum of time. Anadditional advantage of the single opening is that essentially noinstructions are necessary for dressing in the suit, and inexperiencedpersons can easily dress in the suit within a time of less than aminute. Once inside the suit the occupant may be immersed in water andstill float even though the suit has not been secured for watertightness as where the slide fastener has not been closed eitherpartially or wholly. This provides a means for survival under verylimited time preparation.

ice

Included among the objects and advantages of the present invention is toprovide a survival suit with a single opening for minimum time ofdressing in the suit and to provide a suit which will float indefinitelywith an occupant even if completely full of water.

Another object of the invention is to provide a floating survival suithaving sealed buoyancy capacity to maintain it afloat indefinitely.

Another object of the invention is to provide a wetdry survival suitwhich has a single opening and is arranged to permit a fully clothedindividual to efficiently and quickly enter the suit, fasten the suitsecurely about the person of the user, leaving only a small portion ofthe face exposed.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention may be readilyascertained by referring to the following description and pendingillustrations in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wet-dry survival suit according to theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of a survival suit according to theinvention showing a fastening means for the single opening thereof;

FIG. 3 is a detailed view of the closure means around the neck of thesurvival suit;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged detail View of a connection means for two panelsof the material for the survival suit;

FIG. 5 is a detail view of the bottom of a foot of the suit; and

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional detail of the foot part of FIG. 5, takenalong section line 6-6.

The suit of the invention illustrated in the drawings is made of aseries of panels which are cemented or otherwise welded together to forma suit for enclosing a human user. The suit is preferably made of foamedneoprene, or equal material. The neoprene has a smooth, continuoussurface and includes a myriad of closed cells. In a preferred form, thematerial is approximately of an inch thick and the neoprene is foamedwith nitrogen gas so that the cells or pores are generally filled withnitrogen. For strength, the foamed neoprene is backed with an integralnylon mesh, and it is preferred that the suit be made with the nylonmesh on the inside.

The suit is made with panels which are cut from flap material and asingle piece is folded on itself with the edges adhered together to formthe major elements of the suit. As shown in the drawings, the feet, forexample, may each be formed of a single piece of the material 10 and 12and each welded together on the edge by means of a strip 14 and 15,respecitvely. The foot is secured on the body by a strip 17. The body ofthe suit is cut from a single piece of a material 16 folded so that theedges make an opening, and arms formed of a single piece 18 are weldedalong the seam 20. The body is joined in the crotch. Likewise, the handsare cut from a single piece of a material folded and welded along thethumb 22, the forefinger 23 and the third finger 24. A hood 30 is madefrom a single piece of material which has a cut out face area 31, and isfolded back on itself leaving the cutout face opening. The top edges ofthe hood are placed together and sealed by a seal strip 32. The hood issealed around the neck to the body of the suit 16, or it is preferablymade as a part of the body of the suit which reduces the necessity ofsecuring the hood to the suit. The

crotch 33 of the body has a reinforcing 34 welded to the inside forstrength, and under the arms 36 other reinforcing may be provided toprovide strength at that point. These two spots, the armpits and thecrotch are essentially the only points where reinforcing is necessary toprevent the suit from tearing. As can be seen by making the panels of asingle piece, a single seam provides strength and reduces the chances ofleaking. The single panel 16 which forms the body of the suit isprovided with a slit at the edges of the panel extending from the facepiece and the neck down to about the crotch. A slide fastener 40 isattached to the material edge from the crotch to the neck for closing. Aclosing slide 41 may be run from the bottom to the top for closing theopening. A reinforcing 43 supports the material above the crotch. Aninner flap 44 is cemented to the inside of the suit along the lines 45which extend up both sides of the opening in the body portion past theneck and into the hood and along both cheeks of the hood. The variousformed arms, hands and feet are secured to the body to form a suit.

As shown in FIG. 1 the flap 44 is enlarged and it may be pulled outthrough the unclosed slit in the body. The opening 48 at the top of theflap combined with the opening 31 of the hood provides means for entryinto the suit, and it is the sole opening in the suit. The flap must beflexible and is normally made of thinner and non-foamed material thanthe suit, is folded back into the suit, and it leaves, when the slidefastener 40 is closed up to the neck, a flap 4 which covers the throatand extends up onto the chin of the user. The suit is secured around theneck of the user by means of drawstring 50 which is arranged with aslide 51 to pull the material tightly around the neck of the usereffectively separating the inside of the hood from the inside of thebody.

The drawstring 50 is held in place by means of a strip of rubber 52which is cemented or otherwise secured to the throat and neck of thesuit. As shown in FIG. 3 the material 16 at the neck has a rubber strip52 welded or cemented to the material and the drawstring 50 is cementedin place between the strip and the material. It is not necessary thatthe string be free running under the strip since it is necessary thatthe suit be tight around the users neck to prevent leaking in the eventWater splashes and comes into the hood at the face opening. Further, thestring draws up tight against the flap 49 which is over the chin tosecurely seal the throat as well as the neck.

Each of the joints are made by cementing a thin strip of neoprene overthe joining edges of the material. As shown in FIG. 4 a piece of foamedmaterial 55 is abutted against another piece of foamed material 56 and athin piece of unfoamed rubber or neoprene 57 is cemented over the jointforming a covered butt joint which is waterproof. The type of cementuseful for the joints is commercially available, being generally of apermanent rubber or resin type cement.

Each foot has a wear sole for limited walking to prevent the wearing outof the foam neoprene. As shown in FIGS. and 6, the foot material iswelded together at the joint 14 and a sole 60 is cemented over it. Thesole 60 covers the joint on the bottom of the foot which is the resultof material being wrapped around and butted together to form the footitself.

The suit, when made of inch material and of a size to fit the averageheight of man, weighs only eleven pounds. Its construction is such thatit will not sink even though the suit is punctured and completely filledwith water. The suit is very simply made and when properly securedaround a person, even though it is quite ill fitting, it is watertproofand will maintain the occupant dry for an extended period of time.Pulling the drawstring tight around the neck separates the hoodcompartment from the body compartment and prevents water from going intothe body compartment of the suit even though some wa er enters the hoodo d e face opening. The inch material provides insulation for theoccupant even in the coldest of water, and the suit will maintain anoccupant warm in water with floating ice for extended periods of time.Additionally for the average man, the suit is made large enough so thathe may enter the suit fully clothed and the clothing additionally helpsto keep the occupant warm. Experience has shown that even a personhaving never used the suit before can enter the suit, pull the slidefastener up, move the drawstring tight about the neck and be in thewater within less than a minute. With a little practice the time can bereduced to 30 seconds or less, showing the value of the device inescaping from a vessel or an oil rig. Experience has, also, shown thatwhen properly fitted on a human, the human can jump into the water, becompletely immersed and when brought back to the surface, under thebuoyant power to the material, very little Water has entered the suit.Under most conditions, no water at all will seep out of the hood beyondthe neck.

The inch size material is effective for most purposes; however, thematerial may be from A; to inches thick. The thinner material is usefulin warmer climates for protection from sea water and exposure to thesun, while the thicker material is very effective in extreme cold. Thematerial may, also, be reinforced on one side or both.

While the invention has been illustrated by reference to the particulardevice, there is no intent to limit the spirit or the scope of theinvention to the precise details so set forth except as defined in thefollowing claim.

I claim:

1. A bouyant survival suit comprising:

(a) a plurality of insulated, sheet stock pieces of foamed, closed-cellneoprene cut to a particular outline and sealed together to form aone-piece coverall type suit which can be worn over clothing, includingpieces to form a body portion with appending pieces including:

( 1) a hood,

(2) two arms,

(3) two hands,

(4) two feet,

(5) and a single elongated opening along the front of said body portionsextending from about the crotch and connected with a face opening insaid hood,

(b) and being otherwise impervious,

(c) said pieces being sealed in a watertight manner by providing sealingstrips of material overlapping abutting pieces of material and cementedthereto,

(d) said neoprene material being foamed with nitrogen to provideself-bouyancy even if said suit is punctured,

(e) reinforcing means at the seals of at least some of said body formingand appending pieces,

(f) an inner triangular shaped flap sealed along both sides to said bodyon the inside and closing said elongated opening with the base of saidtriangular shaped flap positioned across said face opening of said hood,

(g) said flap having its ends extending into said hood,

(h) the base of said inner fiap being sufliciently wide to pull throughsaid elongated opening so as to form with its top opening combined withsaid face opening of the hood a single entry into said suit,

(i) a slide fastener for opening and closing said elongated opening upto about the throat of said suit,

(j) a drawstring around the neck of said hood for pulling the suitmaterial tightly around the neck of an occupant,

(k) said drawnstring being held in place by a thin strip of sheetmaterial cemented to the neck of said suit over said drawstring so thatsaid drawstring is not free running under said thin strip,

(1) means on said drawstring for holding it taut around the neck of saidsuit,

(In) said flap extending up onto the chin of the user 5 when said slidefastener is in a closed position to 2,749,551 provide a smooth,watertight seal around the chin of 2,981,954 the user. 3,076,206

References Cited 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS 771,234 2,348,793 5/1944Dybberg 282 14 2,383,261 8/1945 Kronhaus 22.1 2,409,367 10/ 1946Leguillon et a1. 282 2,647,507 8/1953 Shaw 282 X 10 2,679,647 6/1954Gossner 282 2 2 1 6 6/ 1956- Garbellano 282 5/ 1961 Garbellano 22.12/1963 Shaw et a1. 9-33O FOREIGN PATENTS 7/1934 France. 5/ 1946 GreatBritain.

RICHARD J. SCANLAN, JR., Primal Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R.

